Hawaii - cruise it or not

I know this is a cruise board so the answers will be slightly skewed ;)

We want to do Hawaii in 2015 for our anniversary

Those that have cruised Hawaii did you feel like you saw enough?

Were allowed enough time to do things?

The joy of cruising is not being 'stuck' in one spot...

But I also don't want to miss anything

I know this is a cruise board so the answers will be slightly skewed ;)

 

We want to do Hawaii in 2015 for our anniversary

 

Those that have cruised Hawaii did you feel like you saw enough?

Were allowed enough time to do things?

 

 

The joy of cruising is not being 'stuck' in one spot...

But I also don't want to miss anything

We did a cruise last year to Hawaii.

Positive: Hawaii was beautiful, trips were lovely, we enjoyed the sea days

Negative: First 2 days were a little cold (we left from San Diego), times on the island were too short as I felt there is much more to see (especially in Kauai, Maui in our case), would have loved to go to Molokai also

This is a very personal opinion as I know other people love the cruise to Hawaii.

Andrea :)

I know this is a cruise board so the answers will be slightly skewed ;)

 

We want to do Hawaii in 2015 for our anniversary

 

Those that have cruised Hawaii did you feel like you saw enough?

Were allowed enough time to do things?

 

 

The joy of cruising is not being 'stuck' in one spot...

But I also don't want to miss anything

If you want to explore Hawaii thoroughly a cruise isn't the way to go.

A land vacation is better if you want to spend time looking around at a slower pace. After doing four land Hawaii vacations I prefer to do the cruise from the west coast.

My husband Will.Not.Fly....so a cruise to Hawaii is our only option at the moment. If he would fly I'd do a land trip over a cruise in this case.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

I was going to answer Carnival specific, but now I see that will be a waste of time.

I know this is a cruise board so the answers will be slightly skewed ;)

 

We want to do Hawaii in 2015 for our anniversary

 

Those that have cruised Hawaii did you feel like you saw enough?

Were allowed enough time to do things?

 

 

The joy of cruising is not being 'stuck' in one spot...

But I also don't want to miss anything

You CAN see and do a lot with a NCL Hawaii cruise. taking a Hawaii cruise from Ca, is adding 10 days of "nothing". IF you have limited time, although these cruises are about the same price and lower than NCL, this option is going to be the least Hawaii.

Ideal is to add time with a NCL cruise, I now only plan this with 3+ weeks of time, with 1 week on Hawaii and the other week on Maui, adding a few days on Oahu, Flights are easy to get between the islands.

Head to your library and take out Hawaii travel books, read up on each VERY different island, and see what direction that takes you in.

If you can time it to take advantage of one of the repositioning cruises, you can fly to Hawaii, spend a few days to a couple of weeks there, then cruise back to the West Coast (or vice versa).

When I worked it out, it was actually less expensive for me to do a one-way flight, 1 week in Hawaii and a 10-day cruise back than it was for me to spend 2 weeks on a land vacation in Hawaii. For me, this was perfect as I wanted to see Hawaii but I also love to cruise, especially sea days.

Just a thought as a nice compromise...

We are doing our second Hawaiian trip on Oct. 15. It is almost a repeat of the first trip because we had a blast! For Hawaii, we choose to do land and we choose four islands. We start by flying EWR to HNL -- one of the longest domestic flights in the world:eek::D and especially sweet with a reward ticket on United. Spend 3 days at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach (Waikiki Beach right next to Ft. Debussy thus better views of ocean) no car as traffic in Honolulu looks a lot like home -- bad. Will take tours (Pearl Harbor, Polyenisian Cultural Center), swim, relax. Next fly Hawaiian airlines to Lihui Kauai (LIH) and stay at Kauai Marriott Resort Kalapaki Beach for 3 nights. Hawaiian Discount Car Rental for midsize car. 3 days. (perhaps a one day cruise to Napali Coast and play with the dolphins if lucky). Beautiful scenery and very restful. Next is Maui for 4 days at Makeena Beach & Golf resort in south because it is a little quieter than the pretty congested and more expensive Lihue area. Another car from Discount Hawaii and flight on Hawaiian Air. Highlights National Park (Haleakala) and the Road to Hana and snorkeling and "tooteling" around as the spirit moves us -- the theme of the whole trip. Last is Big Island staying at the Sheraton Kona Resort. Major snorkeling, Volcanoes NP and just driving around finding hidden beaches etc to picnic on.

We choose to do Hawaii not by cruise because the cruise day is just to short to do the things you will want to do. This trip is special because my DH had prostrate cancer and was treated at Middle Atlantic Urological Institute which we renamed "Bad Maui" and we spent a lot of waiting time there talking about "good Maui" -- this is a real reward trip celebrating 3 cancer free years!:D

I think a trip here for your anniversary would be wonderful. Lots of time and a gorgeous place to relax together just being together with as much or as little to do as you like. My hubby and I don't like just sitting on the beach so we like moving island to island -- different from many people on this board and Trip Advisor boards. Personal choice all the way!

We like to do land vacations and cruises. I think the NCL cruise around the islands is great for newbies to Hawaii. We also didn't have to spent 10 sea days getting there and back. Flew into Honolulu and left out of the port there. We got to see Oahu, Maui, The Big Island, and Kauai. We were in Maui for two days and Kauai for 1 1/2 days on the cruise. We also spent three nights in Waikiki after the cruise (which was plenty!). But once was enough and now that we've seen all these islands we definitely know where we would go if we decide to plan a land vacation to Hawaii...definitely Kauai!!! So I guess my vote is that if you've never been there, definitely the cruise around the islands and NCL is the only cruise line that does the 7 day cruise!

Sailing from Oahu, doing the Hawaiian islands or sailing from Ensenada/Vancouver sailing to or from Hawaii 14/15days sea?

First time to Hawaii was one of those 3 islands in 9 days tours (my former college roomie had booked it with her husband and then decided to separate from him so she asked me to take over his spot). Went, even though I'm a white knuckle flyer. Did see a lot of sights.

Second time was for my honeymoon. My hubby had been there once before and seen the sights then so much of the time we checked out much of Kauai via rental car.

Third, fourth and fifth time we went on the Hawaiian RT out of LA with our daughter. She didn't want to see "all the sights" so we kept our time in Hawaii mostly low key, even though that was the first time on the Big Island for all of us.

The cruise, even though it's 100 per cent of the time in Hawaii, suits us fine. Lots of things to do on the ship (especially as Princess has started the cultural program), lots of time to relax (which is a major thing for us) and the bonus of time in Hawaii.

If we fly to Hawaii for another time, we'll stay in a hotel, not bother with a cruise. To my hubby and I, the ship is a major part of a cruise, not just to use as a floating hotel. We do often pair a land trip with a cruise, but those are two separate elements of the vacation.

Having my druthers, I would stay in a condo for 1 week each on 2 islands. After 6 vacations there, we still would do this. Our favorite is Molokai. The most laid back and scenic of the islands. Having said that, we are cruising there in November. Why? because my bro has never been and it is his 50th anniv. and their 70th B/Ds. He wants to cruise there so it will be fun with the sea days. If you plan on returning then cruise first then decide. Either way you will have a wonderful time. Bon Voyage!

I'm with Woody ... I would pick two islands, one week on each and really immerse yourselves in them. You won't feel 'stuck' for that length of time and you'll be free to do what you want, when you want. You have lots of time to plan, which is a good thing! :)

We've stayed in Hawaii four times and cruised it once. We won't cruise it again for a long time because there is so much to see and too little time to see it when you are on a ship.

Hawaii is best seen at a leisurely pace and we always felt hurried with the limited time in ports. Now for older folks who are satisfied with preplanned bus tours and souvenir shops, I think a cruise is a wonderful way to see Hawaii.

Don't get me wrong, we typically cruise twice a year. But a cruise just doesn't do Hawaii justice.

Burt

I would cruise it. You will get a nice flavor of the islands while also enjoying the cruise.

Keith

Disclaimer, I'm typing this from my lanai in Turtle Bay :). Yes, this is a cruise board so for balance I think you should also ask this question on Tripadvisor where you'll be told a cruise is a horrible way to see Hawaii.

You have to ask yourself what you want on your vacation. 15 days, is 4 in Hawaii enough for you? I'm currently spending 13 nights in Hawaii and there's no way in hell I'd give that up for 10 days at sea with a manufactured Hawaii experience onboard, I'd rather get the real thing.

The west coast return cruise would be at the bottom of my list. If you insist on cruising, I'd look at NCL around the islands, or a one way so you can spend extra time in Hawaii.

I love to cruise, love the eating/entertaining on the ship, and of course waking up in a new port and discovery and adventure in each.

When it comes to Hawaii I'm a firm believer that fly in and two islands with 3 days on each yields far richer experience.

One simply can't do any island justice in a couple days. Yes each Island has unique things to discover that really screams of a day on each, but you also miss so much that is Hawaii trying to grab the best of each.

If it is your first trip I'd do an Oahu and Maui or Kaui, but that is just my 2cents :D I know my vacation time is valuable no way would I waste it on many days at sea crossing from the west coast, but that is me.

When DH and I decided to visit Hawaii for a holiday I knew I didn't want to just stay in Waikiki. Friends had done the cruise around the islands and this sounded like a good way to see a little of each island. We hope to return to Hawaii very soon and will spend time on the Big Island as well as Kaui. This will enable us to do things that we weren't able to do before. For me the cruise showed us just what each island has to offer so we can plan our next trip to do what we want.

Thank you all for the feedback!!

Great tips and extremely helpful!

I think we will stick with our plan to use our timeshare

To get the most out of our time there!

Ty!

If you want to explore Hawaii thoroughly a cruise isn't the way to go.

A land vacation is better if you want to spend time looking around at a slower pace. After doing four land Hawaii vacations I prefer to do the cruise from the west coast.

I just posted a question regarding a land cruise, I hope you can chime in on that, seem like you been there more than 1 time

If you want to explore Hawaii thoroughly a cruise isn't the way to go.

A land vacation is better if you want to spend time looking around at a slower pace. After doing four land Hawaii vacations I prefer to do the cruise from the west coast.

I agree. Either the repositioning from Vancouver to Honolulu in the fall or the reverse in the spring gives you time on four islands plus some time to enjoy on the ship as sea days. Royal Caribbean is the line I'm referring to.

I agree. Either the repositioning from Vancouver to Honolulu in the fall or the reverse in the spring gives you time on four islands plus some time to enjoy on the ship as sea days. Royal Caribbean is the line I'm referring to.

Celebrity does it too on Solstice.

Time share with a stop at the Costco and a good rental car in paradise is a most eexcllent plan!

Thank you all for the feedback!!

 

Great tips and extremely helpful!

I think we will stick with our plan to use our timeshare

To get the most out of our time there!

 

Ty!

It's clear, Hawaii is a VERY enjoyable place to visit. People enjoy BOTH the NCL cruise and land visits. Me being one of them. Every trip is a compromise and most people do NOT have unlimited time. I am a rare traveler as I have the luxury of between 3/4 weeks every, yearly trip. This is not the case for many. I have always added a NCL cruise- 8 times.

So it isn't a case of "my choice in Hawaii travel is better" they all can be considered great depending on that particular person's situation.

I think it can greatly assist someone in choices, if they head to their library. :) Read trip reports. Make lists of your top interests, THEN include them as a priority in your planning. Doing this will bring a great trip together for YOU. :)